Disposable Electrode Seal for Electrosurgical Forceps
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Solution Overview
Problem
Reusable electrosurgical forceps face challenges such as labor-intensive cleaning procedures, risk of contamination, and complex disassembly requirements, which discourage their use and increase costs due to the need for new instruments for each procedure.
Innovation Solution
A surgical instrument design featuring a removable active electrode with a conductive adhesive seal and a replacement electrode, allowing for easy sterilization and replacement without extensive assembly, along with a dispensing mechanism for electrodes and knife tips, enabling clean and effective reuse.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of substance
If reusable electrosurgical forceps are used to reduce instrumentation costs, then cost per procedure decreases, but cleaning complexity and contamination risk increase
Solution Approach 1:
The forceps is divided into a reusable body and disposable components (electrode, knife blade, jaw). The disposable components are attached to the reusable body for a single use, then discarded. This segmentation allows the complex cleaning task to be eliminated entirely for the reusable portion, while the disposable portions are discarded after one use, resolving the contradiction between reusability and cleaning complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs disposable electrode, knife blade, and jaw components that are inexpensive relative to the overall instrument cost. These components are designed for single-use only, then discarded. This allows the expensive reusable body to avoid complex cleaning procedures while maintaining cost-effectiveness through the low cost of disposable replacements.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If disposable components are used to provide clean surfaces for each procedure, then contamination risk decreases, but device complexity and training requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The disposable electrode, knife blade, and jaw are combined into a single integrated disposable assembly that attaches to the reusable body as one unit. This merging simplifies the replacement process compared to disassembling and replacing individual components separately. The integrated design reduces training requirements while maintaining clean surfaces for each procedure.
3Reliability
If brand new instruments are used for each procedure to ensure clean electrodes and sharp knife, then tissue treatment effectiveness is improved, but instrumentation cost per procedure increases
Solution Approach 1:
The instrument is segmented into reusable and disposable portions. The disposable portions (electrode, knife blade, jaw) are replaced for each procedure to ensure clean and sharp surfaces for effective tissue treatment. The reusable body is retained and reused, reducing the overall cost compared to discarding entire new instruments each time.
Solution Approach 2:
The disposable components are discarded after single use to maintain treatment effectiveness, while the expensive reusable body is recovered and reused for subsequent procedures. This selective discarding and recovery strategy maintains reliability while reducing instrumentation costs per procedure.
4Loss of substance
If reusable forceps are used to reduce costs, then cost per procedure decreases, but cleaning time and labor intensity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The electrode, knife blade, and jaw are designed as disposable components that are discarded after one use rather than cleaned. This eliminates the time-consuming cleaning process entirely for these critical components, while the reusable body requires minimal cleaning. The low cost of disposable replacements makes this time-saving approach economically viable.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution reduces contamination risks, simplifies instrument preparation, and lowers costs by providing a clean and sharp surface for each use, while minimizing waste and training requirements.
Implementation Method 1
The adhesive surface may include an electrically conductive adhesive that electrically couples the active electrode and the replacement electrode.
Data Source
AI summary
A surgical instrument includes an active electrode coupled to a source of electrosurgical energy. The active electrode includes a tissue-contacting surface on an exterior surface of the instrument such that the tissue-contacting surface of the active electrode may intimately engage tissue. A replacement electrode includes a tissue-contacting surface, and is located in an interior cavity of the instrument. A seal is formed between the active electrode and the interior cavity of the instrument such that the tissue-contacting-surface of the replacement electrode is isolated from contamination exposed to the exterior of the instrument. The active electrode is removable from the instrument to expose the tissue-contacting surface of the replacement electrode, and the replacement electrode is connectable to the source of electrosurgical energy when the active electrode is removed.